Circuit breakers have long been used in industrial and residential applications to prevent damage to the loads connected to them and the building structures in which the loads are located. Normally, when an electrical fault or a current overload condition is sensed in a particular circuit, the breaker protecting that circuit “trips” and creates a physical disconnect in the circuit, thereby preventing the flow of electricity. To resume electrical flow to the circuit, the operator must physically reconnect the circuit breaker, typically by throwing a mechanical switch back to a closed position. These detection systems work automatically, tripping circuits only when certain conditions are satisfied.
In some electrical systems, a backup power source such as a generator or a standby power source is present. This configuration typically includes a main panel, a transfer switch, and a sub-panel for loads that will receive the backup power. The loads that are to be backed up are determined at the time of installation, and must be wired to the sub-panel. Thus, the wires must be physically moved to change the loads that are powered by the backup or standby power source. Loads that are not to be backed up are “shed” or removed from the power circuit when a backup or standby power source comes online. Care must be taken not to overload the backup or standby power source, so any rewiring to reconfigure the system must take into consideration the demands on the backup or standby power source. This manual process has a number of disadvantages—it can be dangerous, is prone to error, and is labor-intensive. Ineffective or suboptimal management of the loads can also disadvantageously result in instability on the power grid.
What is needed, therefore, is an independent automatic shedding branch circuit breaker that overcomes these and other disadvantages. The present invention addresses this and other needs, as more fully described below.